A parts washer is an apparatus that cleans machinery parts. Parts washers generally use an aqueous cleaning solution to remove such things as grease, carbon, resins, tar, inks, and other grime from dirty parts like engine parts, tools, etc.
A conventional parts washer includes a rotating tray for supporting parts to be washed and a series of nozzles for directing the cleaning solution toward the parts on the tray. A pump delivers cleaning solution under pressure to the nozzles, which are fixedly mounted within the parts washer to direct cleaning solution at a particular region of the tray. A motor and a drive assembly are used to rotate the tray about a central axis. Because of the considerable weight of the tray and the parts to be washed, the motor and drive assembly must be of sufficient power and strength to cause the tray to rotate, even when loaded with parts to be washed. The motor and drive assembly are expensive and utilize numerous parts that are subject to failure and that require frequent maintenance.
It is an object of the invention described in this document to address this problem by providing a support structure for supporting parts to be washed and a fluid-propelled spray tube that rotates about the support structure and sprays cleaning fluid on the support structure and parts to be washed that are on the support structure.
A conventional parts washer often further includes a heater for increasing the temperature of the cleaning fluid. The temperature and level of the fluid within the parts washer must be carefully controlled to prevent damage to the pump and other equipment. Conventional controls are subject to fouling and damage while the parts washer is in use.
It is a further object of the invention described in this document to provide more reliable and effective temperature and level control for a parts washer by using a series of thermostats and pressure switches as controllers and as automatic safety shut-offs.